As a result of the high cost and environmental considerations of traditional dry cleaning, there have been recent introductions into the marketplace, worldwide, of products designed to "freshen" dry cleanable clothes at home either in a washing process or in the drying process. Thus, for example, Siklosi, et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,476 issued on Aug. 20, 1996 discloses a home dry cleaning process whereby a carrier sheet releasably impregnated with solvents such as butoxy propoxy propanol, 1,2-octanediol as a wetting agent, water and an emulsifier is placed in a plastic bag with soiled garments and tumbled in a hot air clothes dryer. Using the Siklosi, et al "dry cleaning process," the garments are cleaned and refreshed. Davis, et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,355 issued on Oct. 28, 1997 discloses a dry cleaning process conducted in a hot air clothes dryer using a containment bag. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,355, the bag is constructed using heat resistant polymers such as nylon to avoid unanticipated hot spots in the dryer; and the bag retains its integrity and can be reused in subsequent dry cleaning operations.
A need has arisen for processes which give rise to de-wrinkling as well as freshening and/or aromatization wherein no heat is required, the fragrance performance is improved, and in general, the process is relatively easy to use at home.
The use of sponges in conjunction with clothing treatment processes is known in the prior art. Thus, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,582 issued on Apr. 25, 1989, dryer-added fabric conditioning articles such as sponges are disclosed utilizing alkyl amine-anionic surfactant ion-pair complexes as fabric conditioning agents. It is indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,582 that the compositions thereof can contain polymeric soil release agents and fabric softeners. In the method of U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,582, damp fabrics are commingled with the conditioner active and other optional components, e.g., fragrances, in automatic laundry dryer and are provided with a soft, antistatic finish concurrently with the drying operation. It is further indicated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,582 that the fabric conditioning agents are preferably employed in combination with a dispensing means adapted for use in an automatic dryer. At column 11, lines 1-9 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,582, it is indicated:
"One such article comprises a sponge or porous material releasably enclosing enough fabric conditioning composition to effectively impart fabric care benefits during several cycles of clothes. Such a substrate will have a weight ratio of fabric conditioning agent to dry substrate on a dry weight basis ranging from about 10:1 to about 0.25:1. This multi-use article can be made by filling, for example, a hollow sponge with about 20 grams of the fabric conditioning composition."
At column 18, line 67, it is indicated that 1.3 weight percent of "perfume" can be included in a dryer-added sheet substrate composition."
The problem of freshening clothing using fragrances in conjunction with clothes dryers is well known in the prior art. Thus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,761 issued on Mar. 10, 1992; U.S. Pat. No. 5,102,564 issued on Apr. 7, 1992; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,610 issued on Aug. 10, 1993 disclose the use of an effective amount of perfume/cyclodextrin complex in application to a fabric that is preferably at least partially wetted. In one method disclosed, a perfume/cyclodextrin complex is applied to a fabric in an automatic laundry dryer. It is further disclosed in these patents that the perfume/cyclodextrin complexes are preferably incorporated into solid, dryer-activated fabric treatment (conditioning) compositions preferably containing fabric softeners, more preferably cationic and/or nonionic fabric softeners. It is further indicated that volatile perfume materials including those materials that are commonly associated with "freshness" can be applied to the fabrics in "an effective way" and that clay provides protection for the perfume/cyclodextrin complexes.
A need exists for providing results such as those obtained in U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,761, U.S. Pat. No. 5,104,564 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,610 wherein perfumes which are not complexed can be delivered to dry cleanable garments without the use of heat and without the perfumes being complexed with such materials as cyclodextrins and at the same time rendering the resulting garments wrinkle free.
Our invention has, in an unexpected, unobvious, advantageous manner, fulfilled the needs as set forth, supra, in the fabric de-wrinkling/aromatization and/or freshening area.